Les miserables gave us “Do You Hear the People Sing?”. The song never fails to awaken hope in me, and I`m probably not the first or last one, either. I believe that the world can change. If we work for it and gather our strength, it can even be the world we dream off. Barricades may rise and fall but the crux of the world never changes. Remember: “There is a life about to start When tomorrow comes!”

How would you answer this question: “Beyond the barricade is there a world you long to see?”

I know I`ll fight, no matter if others don`t. I`m even ready to fall, because I know how I`d feel if I didn`t follow my heart. I`ve always been like that, and I haven`t regretted anything, yet. Misery and tough times are at the heart of happiness.

Alzheimer’s blood test edges closer

Researchers believe they are closer to developing a blood test that could diagnose Alzheimer’s.

There is no definitive test for the brain-wasting disease. Doctors rely on cognition tests and brain scans.

A technique published in the journal Genome Biology showed differences in the tiny fragments of genetic material floating in the blood could be used to identify patients.

The test was accurate 93% of the time in trials on 202 people.

One of the main goals of Alzheimer’s research is to find ways of detecting the disease earlier.

It starts years before symptoms appear and it is thought that future treatments will need to be given before large parts of the brain are destroyed. This will require new ways of testing for the condition.

The team at the Saarland University, in Germany, analysed 140 microRNAs (fragments of genetic code) in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and in healthy people.

They found 12 microRNAs in the blood which were present in markedly different levels in people with Alzheimer’s. These became the basis of their test.

Early trials showed it was successful and was “able to distinguish with high diagnostic accuracies between Alzheimer’s disease patients and healthy” people.

However, more research to improve accuracy and to see whether it would work in the clinic is still needed before the test would be considered as a way of diagnosing patients.

Dr Eric Karran, from the charity Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “This is an interesting approach to studying changes in blood in Alzheimer’s and suggests that microRNAs could be playing a role in the disease.

“The findings highlight the importance of continuing research efforts to understand the contribution of microRNAs to Alzheimer’s, but the translation of this into a blood test for Alzheimer’s in the clinic is still some way off.

“A blood test to help detect Alzheimer’s could be a useful addition to a doctor’s diagnostic armoury, but such a test must be well validated before it’s considered for use. We need to see these findings confirmed in larger samples and more work is needed to improve the test’s ability to distinguish Alzheimer’s from other neurological conditions.”

If you ask people: What do you regret most? The things you did or the things you didn`t do, they answer, with longing, the things they didn`t do. When looking back, the things you didn`t say or do, linger on. The silence can speaks so loud and haunt you in the quiet night. Luckily, many have tought me this valuable lesson, and today I can`t thank them enough. When the bridge bridge collapsed under my feet, they stood there as I rebuilt it, stone by stone. I didn`t always realize it since fog hid their beautiful faces, but I always recognized them in the end. They saved me enough to see and take an outstretched hand when I needed it.

Some didn`t have pillars of safety to stand on when they built their lives. So what about them? What about those who couldn`t let their tears flow when they wanted? How can I ever compare my experiences to that? The lack of scaffolding must feel like swimming without seeing land. “True”, you might say, but this can bring out incredible strength in people. “True”, I`d answer with a sad voice. “But it still drains their energy for such a long time”. “And what about those who lose their lives in the effort? How many had to let go right before they reached the shore?

I have no answers, but I do have my ability to ask since they didn`t take that away from me. My gift is to give back what I got to show my appreciation and gratitude. I`ll promise to give as much as I got with the warmth of this truth energizing me forever.

Who knows? One day one of them might feel as touched as me when I stretch out my hand and they take it. What if they one day get the chance to think like I do? In an integrative blender my thoughts and feelings have intermingled until this simple truth came out: If this isn`t nice, then I don`t know what is.

According to Scientists, This is The Most Relaxing Tune Ever Recorded

This eight minute song is a beautiful combination of arranged harmonies, rhythms and bass lines and thus helps to slow the heart rate, reduce blood pressure and lower levels of the stress. The song features guitar, piano and electronic samples of natural soundscapes.

A study was conducted on 40 women, who were connected to sensors and had been given challenging puzzles to complete against the clock in order to induce a level of stress. Different songs were then played, to test their heart rate, blood pressure, breathing and brain activity.

The results showed that the song Weightless was 11 per cent more relaxing than any other song and even caused drowsiness among women in the lab.

It induced a 65 per cent reduction in overall anxiety and brought them to a level 35 per cent lower than their usual resting rates.

Moreover, sound therapies have been used for thousands of years to help people relax and improve health and well-being. Among indigenous cultures, music has been the heart of healing and worship. The song, weightless is ideal for unwinding and putting an end to a stressful day.

According to Dr David Lewis-Hodgson, from Mindlab International, which conducted the research, this song induced the greatest relaxation, higher than any other music tested till date. In accordance to the Brain imaging studies, music works at a very deep level within the brain, stimulating not only those regions responsible for processing sound but also ones associated with emotions. The song Weightless can make one drowsy and hence should not be heard while driving.

K. Anders Ericsson’s work on deliberate practice and client feedback explains studies showing that most of us grow continually in confidence over the course of our careers despite little or no improvement in our actual rate of success.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, the culprit behind such mistaken self-assessment isn’t incompetence, but rather proficiency. Within weeks and months of first starting out, noticeable mistakes in everyday professional activities become increasingly rare, making intentional modifications seem irrelevant, increasingly difficult, and costly in terms of time and resources. Add to this the custom in our profession of conflating success with a particular method or technique, and the door to greatness for many therapists is slammed shut early on.

During the last few decades, more than 10,000 “how-to” books on psychotherapy have been published, and the number of treatment approaches has mushroomed. Based on this information alone, one would be hard pressed not to believe that real progress has been made by the field. More than ever before, we know what works for whom. Or do we?

In comparing today’s success rates with those of decades past, we find that no measurable improvement in the therapeutic effectiveness of psychotherapy has occurred in the last 30 years.

The time has come to confront the unpleasant truth: Our tried-and-true strategies for improving our therapeutic effectiveness have failed. Instead of advancing in the field, we’ve stagnated, mistaking our feverish peddling on a stationary bike for progress in the Tour de Therapy.

This isn’t to say that therapy is ineffective. Quite the contrary, the data are clear and unequivocal: Psychotherapy works. The heart of the issue, however, is how we can learn from our experiences and improve our therapeutic effectiveness.

Psychotherapists aren’t alone in the struggle to increase expertise. Using the treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF) as an example, science writer Atul Gawande showed how the same processes undermining excellence in psychotherapy play out in medicine.

Since 1964, medical researchers have been tracking the outcomes of patients with CF. As is the case with psychotherapy, the evidence indicates that standard CF treatment works. The real story isn’t that patients with CF live longer when treated, but that, as with psychotherapy, treatment success rates vary significantly.

It’s a small comfort to know that our counterparts in medicine stumble and fall in the pursuit of excellence just as much as we “soft-headed” psychotherapists do. But Gawande’s article provides much more than an opportunity to commiserate. It confirms what our own research revealed to be the essential first step in improving outcomes: knowing your baseline performance. To get where you want to go, you first have to know where you are.

Most practicing psychotherapists have no hard data on their therapeutic effectiveness with clients. Fewer still have any idea how their outcomes compare to those of other clinicians or to national norms. By discovering this information, we can push beyond our current standard of reliable performance and, in time, see our outcomes improve markedly.

Have you ever seen the skies draw apart revealing the image you longed to see? Your own oasis in the desert; Your very

personal mirror image.

What do you see?

Have you ever felt sure on what your mission in life will be? Don`t panic if you haven`t. I`m not certain these experiences are classified under “normal” anyway. I`ll confess I`ve had several strange insights and thoughts through life, often after waking up after my eyes have fluttered from side to side in their world of dreams

After working with EMDR, insights happen even more frequently then before, like a thousand blaring lightbulbs. Sometimes it`s hard to follow my train of thought and ideas, but the most important message is that we still like each other and want to understand even the most confusing things in life. I have learnt so much from these people. For example I`ve realized that sometimes I have to draw my breath and let the ideas I present settle, or I`ll just confuse people even more. I have also tried to learn the art of grounding, and most of the time I manage to live without floating too far from the earth.

The curious people around me know I`ve been working on something important (to me) the last weeks.

What`s in the picture?

True enough, I have put energy into this, but it doesn`t mean that I`ll poured over books too heavy to lift. I`ve lived my life to the fullest while letting my (surprisingly clever) brain do its magic consciously or unconsciously, requiring some practical work every now and then.

Not everyone knows, however, that I`ve actually worked for months on what will I`ll reveal as my New Mission in Life tomorrow.

I`ve asked myself the same question countless times: Why is life so short? But until I figure that one out, let me continue with what I`ll learnt so far:

“Nothing is more creative…nor destructive.. than a brilliant mind with a purpose.”

——————————————————————

“Denial is a critical part of the human coping mechanism. Without it, we would all wake up terrified every morning about all the ways we could die. Instead, our minds block out our existential fears by focusing on stresses we can handle—like getting to work on time or paying

our taxes.”

— DanBrown
(I am fond of his books, but not denial)

——————————————————————

“I’m a fan of the truth… even if it’s painfully hardto accept.” — Dan Brown

—————————————————————————————————

I also have some bad news that might frustrate some: From tomorrow I`ll password-protect this blog. Some might think “Oh lord! I`ve been waiting for this “revelation” for WEEKS now, and this is what I`ll get in return?”

If this described your thoughts, I do apologize. I can only assure you that we`ll all get our cherries in the end.

Of course, you can shorten the waiting time by writing an email (forfreepsychology@gmail.com) and the password is yours to keep.

I won`t say much more now; Some might even have an inkling what my new project will be (I have belief in the fearless conscious and unconscious mind) and tomorrow you`ll know for sure. Until then, we all make our small steps that sooner or later will alter the future of humanity.

“consider this. It took the earth’s population thousand of years-from the early dawn of man all the way to the early 1800s-to reach one billion people.

Then astoundingly, it took only about a hundred years to double the population to two billion in the 1920s. After that, it took a mere fifty years for the population to double again to four billion in the 1970s. As you can imagine, we’re well on track to reach eight billion very soon.

Just today, the human race added another quarter-billion people to planet Earth. A quarter million. And this happens ever day-rain or shine. Currently every year we are adding the equivalent of the entire country of Germany.” — Dan Brown

I`m not sure I believe in coincidences anymore, especially not after I saw the theme for the weeks DPChallenge. The sound of .. has been my theme, so it feels like faith that the weekly challenge is also my personal challenge in the years to come.

The events in Ukrainehas triggered to many of us. We start to think about evil and injustice. If you think too much about that, it`s easy to feel helpless and scared. Completely natural and reasonable, but if we only focus on the bad things, we feel powerless. A dear friend of me lost a friend in Ukraine, and my heart reaches out to her and all the people who lost their lives because they dared to break the silence that many of us worship. Luckily, I know the power of breaking the silence. Like a freeing laugh in a tense situation, speaking up releases a cascade of reactions sorely needed. Put you`r imagination on fire and mentally hug your ability to change things. Who knows, you might be the person who started the chain reaction, leading to a better world for us all.

For people in need of more inspiration to battle helplessness, these pictures and this site might give you the necessary encouragement.